Send me email updates about messages I've received
on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.By signing up, you certify that
you are female and accept the Terms of Service and have read the
Privacy Policy.

How do YOU pronounce "gyro"?

My other question about Greek food got me thinking about the two most common pronunciations for "gyro". Do you pronounce it like "JAI-ro' (rhymes with Cairo), or like "YEAR-o" (like a year, with an o)? Or some other way?

I grew up in a heavily Greek area, and it was always "year-o". When I met my DH and SIL they called it a "jai-ro", and when I ordered a "year-o" neither they - nor the person at the restaurant - knew what I was talking about. So I changed my order ;-)

Yesterday I was having dinner at my favorite Greek restaurant and the waitress "corrected" my dinner order to "jai-ro" I was flabbergasted! If I hadn't eaten there several times and met the owner/cook, I would have changed my order (I figure, if you can't say it, you can't cook it).

I don't fault my DH and SIL for not pronouncing it "year-o", but if you are a waitress at a GREEK RESTAURANT, well...